


Song of the blue whale

by Tabata



Series: Leoverse [5]
Category: Glee
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-08 02:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20284855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabata/pseuds/Tabata
Summary: High School. The time has come for Leo to pick an extracurricular activity, and being Kurt Hummel's son, he has no choice but to join the glee club, now directed by his uncle Finn. But he's not going to do this thing alone. That's why Adam and Annie are now waiting with him in the choir room. Unfortunately those two are not as talented as he is and that's a problem.





	Song of the blue whale

**Author's Note:**

> OMG! A a pre-Blaine story! That's a miracle.  
We're about 6-7 months before the infamous night-of-the-couch that will bring those two together. Enjoy an unusual 14 year old Leo still hating Blaine.

When he signs up for the glee club, Leo is not exactly _choosing_ to join it. It's more, like, the result of peer pressure. Except that the peer was his father Kurt and the pressure was one of his father's tragic scenes in the living room, during which he said – with a very long, very theatrical and, most of all, very unrequired speech under a single imaginary spotlight – that if Leo didn't join the glee club of the McKinley High School, then he was betraying his legacy and everything that made him who he was, the very core of his DNA, which was kind of preposterous since he's adopted, so who knows what's in his genes. But Leo didn't even go there, knowing that his father would have had a breakdown for real this time if he had.

Up to the money shot in their living room – his father Dave watching them with the face of a man resigned to have a crazy husband – Leo had thought of two possible extracurricular activities that he might have taken into consideration: drama club, because on some level he likes to play characters, and the football team, because if it had come down to, God forbid, choose a sport, that is the only one he knows something about. Plus, Adam already is in the football team and that was going to be a bonus. But he didn't even have the time to make an audition for the drama club or to try and convince himself to enter the football field and have a bunch of bigger guys – his best friend included – massacre him with a prolate spheroid, because his father descended upon him with his talons out, cawing that there was no choice for him but the glee club. His whole family and all his family's closest friends had been in a glee club (and most of these people had been specifically in _the_ glee club he was going to join), so why would he want to choose another path?

Leo knows for a fact that, except for his father Kurt, his aunt Rachel and heinous Blaine, none of the other people he knows joined the glee club for a noble reason. It wasn't their collective, unbridled passion for singing. It was more like that any other choice sucked more or was precluded to them. Not exactly an uplifting example to follow. But his father was going to be sick to his stomach and Leo didn't care enough for this particular thing to put up a fight. He just wanted extra credits, so he said yes. And in doing so he made two people happy: his father and his uncle Finn, current director of the New Directions, who had been begging him for months to fill the spot left open after his previous male lead had graduated. But he wasn't going to do this thing alone.

That is why Annie and Adam signed up too and they're now waiting with him in the choir room. Not that he would have any problem being in any club alone – more than half his classes he doesn't share with either of them – but since extra credits are the only thing he's after here, he thought that having his gang with him could be fun. Even thinking they are a _gang_ is funny. It used to be just him and Adam, so he's not exactly sure what they are supposed to do now that Annie came along, but he figured out that joining a club together could be a good start.

“Tell me again why I said yes to this nonsense,” Adam mutters.

“Because you love me,” Leo instantly replies, while he writes one-word responses to each and every one of his relatives and family friends who are wishing good luck to him because _today is a big day_ as if he was nominated for an Oscar or something. Only his aunt Santana – the only sensible grown-up he knows – wrote: _Don't become a freak or I'll have to bully you_,” and then, right after that: _Love you, smart-ass_.

“I certainly do not,” Adam protests.

“You do a little,” Annie chuckles. “You used to eat his mud pies.”

Adam frowns. “You learned that piece of information yesterday and you are already using it against me. I'm never telling you anything else.” Both Leo and Annie giggle, exchanging what Adam recently defined a _mischievous glance_, making them both laugh. 

The rest of the room is looking at them weirdly, especially Adam. The glee club is not the club for misfits and outcasts it used to be once upon a time – a long, long time ago, way before his father's time – but it's still not a cool kids type of club. Nowadays you can be in any kind of nerdy club – science club, chess club, robotics club, what have you – and be respected. But cool kids still do sports. Period. No amount of social fights will ever change that. So it's really rare to see a jock in this room, let alone _the quarterback_, this mythological creature that leads the school team in battle against other schools and is frequently carried around on the shoulders by over-excited males chanting the school motto during Homecoming. A lot of people who live far from the shiny top of the school social ladder and have no contact whatsoever with jocks think that they exist on another plan of existence, like the Olympians, and they are very shocked when they see them do normal, earthly things like any other human being. Leo would like to go around telling everybody that Adam looks like an angel but sometimes his feet stink like the pits of hell and that he most definitely doesn't shit rainbows. But that would be too ground-breaking, the world is not ready yet.

“I'm sorry, are you Leonard Kurofsky-Hummel?”

Leo looks up from his phone to see a girl standing a few inches away from him. She is very thin and tall, with long blond hair and blue eyes so small that she looks like she's actually squinting. She's cute, but her preppy clothes give off a very stuck-up, sassy secretary vibes he doesn't really dig. “Leo,” he corrects her instantly, because he really hates his full name. “But yeah, it's me.”

“Is it true what they say, that you are Kurt Hummel's son?”

This is the first time in almost fifteen years that someone his age has any idea of who his father is and questions him about that, and he really hopes it never happens again because he doesn't like the feeling at all. He loves his father, but discussing him with strangers is not exactly his idea of fun. “Yes,” he says dryly, not knowing what to make of this exchange. “I'm sorry, do I know you?”

She squeals in delight. “I'm Harper Kaplan, I'm one year older than you so we don't have any class together,” she says, a little bit dismissively. Leo doesn't see why she had to point that out, but okay. “I think your father is a great artist. A true inspiration for people like me. But of course I'm a huge fan of your aunt Rachel Berry. I've been to all her shows since I can remember. I worship her. She's my role model. I'm gonna be like her one day. I want to be a Broadway singer and I'm Jewish, too. I don't have two fathers, but I'm definitely an ally and one of my favorite singers, except her of course, is Barbra Streisand. So, you see, we have a lot in common.”

“You're practically twins,” Leo comments, unimpressed. Rachel is not exactly his favorite relative and he doesn't even see her very often because, unlike his father, she lives most of the year in New York or in tour wherever her shows take her. Her and uncle Finn only see each other on the week ends – when he goes visit her – because he never wanted to leave Lima. They have a very weird marriage, now that he thinks about it. But what he knows for sure about her is that she's crazy, so Harper is probably on the right path to become like her if she goes on like that.

“Right?” Harper squeals again. “I know you would recognize the resemblance, since you know her so well. Your uncle does as well, of course. It's such an honor to work with someone who worked with Mrs. Berry. And now you too! I can feel that her vibes surrounding me are even stronger now. Alright, good luck with your audition. I know you can't have taken after your father, but please do your best because I really need a new male lead.”

“Did she really just say that?” Annie asks confused as she watches Harper go back to her chair and sit down after having elegantly straightened her skirt.

“I think she did,” Adam nods with gravity.

Leo makes a face. “Is she for real?”

Adam is about to say something – possibly something Leo wouldn't have liked – but the director's arrival keeps him from that. His Uncle Finn is one of those men that Leo thinks Lima, Ohio produces in series. Calm, simple men who enjoy their lives here, whose dreams are never so big that they take them somewhere else, far far away. Men like his father Dave or his grandfather Burt. They love passionately one single person and have one special thing that keeps them alive. For his father is teaching football. For his grandfather is repairing cars. And Finn's got his school choir. They're of a different clay than his father Kurt, for example. Sometimes he wonders what kind of Lima man he'll be.

Finn looks around the room smiling. “Hello everybody. I'm glad to see some new faces today, one of which I've known since he wore diapers.”

“Thank you, uncle Finn. Now it's not gonna be awkward at all,” Leo calls out while the room breaks down into giggling.

Finn chuckles too. He looks happy and when he's happy his whole face turns as red as an apple. “I'm sorry but it had to be done,” he says. “There was no malice in it, I promise. This is a safe space and we're all friends here.”

“I was not aware that the glee club doubled as a therapy session,” Leo comments.

“It's important for us that there is harmony among us,” Harper explains. “To perform better.”

“Exactly,” Finn nods.

“And by _harmony_ she means that everyone has to do what she says,” a guy in the back clarifies. Leo didn't see who he was, but he chuckles.

Finn clears his throat and claps his hands to avert any further discussion. “Alright! We have three new applicants and today we're gonna see what they've got,” he says, leaning against the piano. “Leo, do you want to go first?”

“I do not, but I will anyway,” Leo stands up, knowing that Adam will kill him if he doesn't. Annie is excited, but Adam looks like he's about to throw up, so maybe he needs a little bit more time. He walks up to the three miserable members of the school band that have been coerced to play music for them today and whispers something to the guitarist. When the first few notes of _When the party's over_ by Billie Eilish start playing, Leo can see Adam rolling his eyes.

“Why does he always have to be so depressive?” He mumbles.

Annie chuckles. “I think he's just tragically romantic.”

“As if that was any better.”

Kurt insisted that he should sing something classical, better if it was from a Broadway show. So, of course, Leo said yes to him and then he went with Billie Eilish, which is always his go-to singer at the karaoke, an activity his family does shamefully often for them to be in this year and age. 

His voice is not mature yet, but it's very nice and warm, and he can do more than just carry a tune. The song is perfect to help him show that. By the time he gets to the refrain, his little audience is already captured, but he doesn't really notice as he's caught up in it too. Every time he starts singing, he remembers how much he actually likes it.

Harper is looking at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. It is so clear that she was expecting some mediocre half-assed singing from him that he can't help but grin smugly at her. Take that, Kaplan. You wanted your male lead, now you have it. I could even steal your thunder if I wanted to, Leo thinks.

The end of the song is welcomed by a round of applause, led by Finn himself whose eyes are filled with the relief of a man who was seriously despairing of finding a guy who could really sing. The situation must have been way worse than Leo thought, his uncle is on the verge of tears. “Thank you, Leo,” he says nodding and gently pushing him towards his chair again. 

When he gets there, Annie is out of her mind with shock. She stares at him with her mouth wide open. “What?” Leo asks, confused.

“You didn't tell me you could do that!”

“What, sing?”

“Perform!” She hisses and, for the first time, Leo notices some panic in her eyes. “I didn't know that was the level of singing in here!”

Leo blinks a couple of times, a little surprised of seeing her so agitated. “Don't worry, you don't need to be the next Lady Macbeth to be in here,” he smiles at her. “You'll be fine.”

But he's wrong, and tragically so.

Adam and Annie decided to go with a duet, both to face stage fright together and to do a little less singing than required. As they take central stage, Leo looks at them encouragingly. “Alright, your names, please?” Finn invites them with a smile.

Adam clears his throat. “I'm Adam and this is Annie.”

“And what are you going to sing for us?”

“Um, _Don't go breaking my heart_,” Annie answers. She's pale now, so very pale.

“A classic! I like that,” Finn claps his hands once and gestures the few musicians to start playing.

Leo has already heard Adam singing a few times, mostly under the shower or when he was in a very good, companionable mood. He is no singer, but he can deliver enough to be pleasant. Two years ago Adam and his mother Angela were spending Christmas at Leo's house. Kurt insisted for something, like, three hours, until they finally resigned to give a rendition of _God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen_ as if they were five or something. Leo remembers himself and Adam – who had already had his first growth spurt, so he was all lanky in the weirdest way – in front of the fireplace like two overgrown toddlers, awkwardly singing for their families. It was a nightmare but, despite everything, Adam brought it home decently. So, Leo knows he can get to the end of this song too without much of a problem.

What he didn't know – and he's sadly discovering it now – is that Annie's voice, usually so sweet, turns into the screech of harpies the moment she opens her mouth to sing, and that her ears are unable not only to hear harmonies but to tell a note from another, so what comes out of her is a flat string of words in the most impossible, non-modulated voice. 

“She sounds exactly like a blue whale in heat,” Morgan comments, a mix of awe and terror in his voice. Leo knows him because they have English together. They don't get along at all – mostly because Morgan is a presumptuous prick who believes he is better than anyone – but Leo can't disagree with him on this. He saw that documentary on Animal Planet once. That is the noise those animals make, and he has no idea of what to say to Annie once this is over and she will inevitably come to him for an opinion. There's no nice way to tell someone they sound like a cetacean looking for a mate.

At the end of the performance, a cold, quite shocked silence falls upon the room. Nobody knows what to say, so it's Finn who has to break the ice. He claps his hands hesitantly, leading everybody else to do the same. “Well, that was... that was something,” he comments through his teeth. “Um, why don't we try a little dancing? Maybe that's more up your alley. Philip, show them some moves. Let's do some easy classic. I don't know, _Time Warp_, perhaps. Do you know that?”

Annie nods while Adam shrugs. “Sort of.”

“Sort of is enough, I'll take it,” Finn says desperately. “Leo, go with them. Harper, you too. You'll be Riff Raff and Magenta.”

Harper looks at him, a little agitated. “I don't know, Mr. Hudson, I'm more of a Janet.”

“Yeah? I'm not bald nor hunched,” Leo mutters. “And yet!”

“Please, Harper, it's just a little test. Nothing official,” Finn sighs, clearly asking heaven for some patience. “I just want to see how you all dance together.”

She huffs as if she had been asked for an incredibly big favor that she was so generous to accept. “Fine. You're lucky I always know every other part other than my own.”

That's not too hard to do when it comes to the classics, Leo thinks. He too could play Janet. He goes to stand next to Adam who throws a desperate look at him. “It's gonna be fine,” Leo smiles. “It's really like five steps over and over. Just follow the others.”

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a bit of a religion in his house, so he knows it well, and he certainly loves the music and the visuals – and Frank-N-Furter, yes, but he doesn't want to go there now, he never really wants to go there – but it is not his favorite musical of all time, if he'll _ever_ admit he has one. So, he could have done without this whole Time Warp thing. But he understands that it is an easy enough dance to put Annie and Adam to the test and hope in a good result. They just have to wiggle a little, after all. And someone's gonna say the steps aloud. They can't fail.

But of course they can. And big time too.

When the music starts, Leo starts singing and, since he knows the number so well, he does more, he starts acting too. Riff Raff is a silly creature and he's fun to play because he's so different from him. Harper instantly follows his lead and somehow, in the midst of it, they actually click, even if they have never seen each other before or sung together. They actually work very well together, and he can see the look of pure joy on his uncle face. Until the time comes to _step to the right_ and hell breaks loose.

Adam, who's normally very coordinated on the football field – he's the freaking quarterback, his only job is literally to put one foot in front of the other and run – seems to lose control over his body and, like a small child, he suddenly forgets where the right is and he stumbles over Annie who was going the right away. She ends up stomping on Harper's foot, triggering a chain reaction. By the time the first refrain is over, they are all on the ground and the musicians have stopped playing.

Finn covers his face with both hands. “Let's take five, okay? Have a nice... cup of water, or whatever.”

Leo stands up and offers Annie his hand. “It's been a disaster, isn't it?” She chuckles. 

“You think so?” Adam grumbles, sarcastically.

Leo would like to have something nice to say, but he doesn't and that makes it hard to say anything. “It could have been a little better, yeah,” he admits.

“Guys,” Finn approaches them, looking around to make sure nobody is following him. But nobody does, they're all scattering around the room, looking for a chair and a moment of quiet after the fiasco. “Listen, about your performance—“

Uncle Finn is visibly uneasy, his face bears all the signs of embarrassment: he's sweating too much, he can't look them in the eyes and he lost control of his big hands, that are giving wrinkles to his t-shirt. He doesn't know how to say what he has to say for the sake of everyone. Luckily, Annie comes to the rescue. “It's better if we leave now?” She smiles. She doesn't seem disappointed or sad. She tried and it didn't work, too bad. Leo admires Annie's easiness in every situation. She's always down for anything, and then she's happy if it goes well and happy even if it goes wrong because it could have gone worse and it didn't. 

“Yes,” Finn sighs in relief. “And never come back, please. This choir has already too many problems.”

“Wow,” Adam says dryly. “So much for being supportive. Thank God you're not a doctor, mister Hudson.”

Finn closes his eyes for a moment and sighs again. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm sure you have a lot of other qualities. I usually try to include everybody, no matter what, but sometimes it's just—“

“Don't worry, we get it,” Annie smiles and suddenly the image of the lonely blue whale looking for her soulmate is gone. She's a fairy tale princess again. “This is not exactly our scene, it's definitely Leo's. Me, I'm more of an astronomy girl. The stars, the galaxies, nerdy older guys who teach you how far the next inhabitable planet is, you know, that kind of stuff. Maybe I'll try that club. That or I'll devote myself entirely to shopping. Both options are appealing.”

“And I have football practice, like, seven days a week,” Adam snorts. “If I break a leg dancing, coach Karofsky will make sure to break my other leg too, so...”

“But we will be seated in the front row at every concert to see you perform,” Annie nods, pushing Leo playfully. “So you better deliver.”

“Actually, I was thinking—“

“No, you're staying,” Adam declares, sternly. Leo instantly frowns at him, there's nothing he hates more than being told what to do. Especially by his own best friend. “Don't look at me like that. You're good at this and you like it.”

Leo blinks a couple of times in surprise. He wasn't expecting this kind of response from him. “Wow. Like, thanks, man.” 

“It's either that or football and I don't want you on the field because you're lazy. So please stay here and be somebody else's problem for a change.”

Leo snorts. “Thank you, Adam. I love you too.”

“I already told you, I don't love you.”

“You do a little,” Leo and Annie say in unison. 

Leo really thinks about it for the first time since he got here. As far as extracurricular activities go, this one is not so bad, and Adam is right about one thing: he likes to sing. He had never thought about doing that on stages with other people and stuff, but apparently there's a first time for everything. Plus, making his father happy is a bonus. You never know when you'll need something to blackmail your parents with – I joined the glee club like _you_ wanted, let me do what _I_ want for once! – this thing could come in handy in the future. Yes, he'll stay.

At this point he thinks the next four years of his life are set, but really he doesn't have the slightest idea.


End file.
